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New Interactive Charity Website Allows Donors to Build AIDS Orphanage
New Interactive Charity Website Allows Donors to Build AIDS Orphanage
Published 01-27-09
Submitted by WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com
LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/27/09 -- WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com (www.WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com), a non-profit start-up building a home, clinic and school for 100 AIDS orphans in Haiti, today announced the launch of an innovative charity fundraising website. WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com is the non-profit sector's first interactive charity that allows donors to actually "build" an orphanage like a puzzle by buying each of the many thousands of specific parts needed -- from baby cribs and bags of concrete to a square foot of land or even a construction worker's salary for a day.
"The idea is pretty simple. A lot of people, giving just a little, adds up to a big difference. Like a puzzle, every big project is made up of small parts. Whether it's a donation of 48 cents for a jar of baby food or $48.00 worth of concrete blocks for the clinic wall, everyone can be a piece of the puzzle.
WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com is unique because it lets people choose where they want to make an impact. We're putting the donor in the driver's seat," said Luke Montgomery, Executive Director of WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com.
WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com allows donors to browse individual items that make up the larger "puzzle" by categories that interest them. "Parts" categories school supplies, medical equipment, construction materials, and more. Users can choose from over 400 different "puzzle parts" needed to build the orphanage from textbooks and chalkboards to a month's worth of AIDS medication or even a nanny's daily salary. When a donor sees an item they want to give, they simply drag and drop the picture into their "gift box" and the item is "packed for shipment."
"We want to show donors exactly how their money is being spent," said Martin Schmitt, Co-Founder of WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com. "Like an online reality show, video webisodes will follow the building progress every step of the way and let donors see the impact they are having on children's lives firsthand. Our site makes heavy use of video to show the project's vision, including a 3-D animated tour of the orphanage and compelling stories of the children whose lives we have already saved."
Supporters can tap the power of their social networks to raise funds and help build the orphanage by creating their own personalized "builder page" where they can add their own name, photo, text, YouTube videos and a personal goal for how much they want to raise. In a single click of the mouse, users can send an e-mail to their friends, family and co-workers asking them to pitch-in and choose which items they want to donate.
Prices for popular items on the site include:
- -- AIDS Medication - $2.68
-- Syringe Needle - 14 cents
-- 1 Square Foot of Land - 49 cents
-- Concrete Block - 98 cents
-- Nanny, 1 Day's Salary - $10.68
-- Solar Power Panel - $144.34
-- School Desk & Chair - $43.70
-- Toddler Training Pants - $2.60
"Everybody who cares about a cause wants to have an effect," said Montgomery. "When people make their own 'builder page' they get to be the hero and ask friends to choose what parts they want to give to build this life-saving dream for these orphans. It's all about teamwork. Picking up a mouse becomes like picking up a hammer."
About WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com
WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com (www.WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com) is a tax-deductible IRS 501(c)3 non-profit organization building a home, clinic and school for 100 AIDS orphans in Haiti. Employing an innovative online fundraising campaign centered on ground-breaking custom-built "drag-and- drop" donation software, WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com allows donors to actually "build" the orphanage like a puzzle by buying each of the many thousands of specific parts needed -- from baby cribs and bags of concrete, to a square foot of land or even a construction worker's salary for a day. The organization currently has an orphanage for 14 AIDS orphans in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com was founded in 2007 by former Cars.com vice president Martin Schmitt and Adopt-a-Pet.com founder Luke Montgomery and is based in Los Angeles, California.
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